The subject invention relates to circuit board holders and circuit board assemblies.
The utility of printed and other circuit boards is well known.
In the field of circuit breakers, the art has evolved progressive methods and circuit breaker housings for conveniently mounting circuit breakers in corresponding apertures of power switching panels, such as apparent from U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,793, by Bohdan Krasij, issued Mar. 14, 1989 for xe2x80x9cCircuit Breaker Housing With Centered Actuator.xe2x80x9d Circuit breaker housings such as shown in FIG. 9 of that patent have been and are being sold as xe2x80x9cdummiesxe2x80x9d for covering up panel apertures where no circuit breaker is being mounted at the time. Commercial versions of such dummies accommodate different mounting panel thicknesses by serrations at ends of so-called wings 220c shown in that patent.
In the circuit board field, there exists a need for improved circuit board holders and assemblies. By way of example and not by way of limitation, the need is particularly pressing in applications requiring rapid circuit board replacements, preferably without power interruption. One example in this respect is the alarm circuit field, such as in telephone exchange and the like, where circuit boards of alarm systems need to be replaced without disruption of power to distribution circuits.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved methods of making circuit board holders.
It is a germane object of the invention to provide improved circuit board holders.
It is a related object of the invention to provide improved methods of making circuit board assemblies.
It is a related object of the invention to provide improved circuit board assemblies. Other objects will become apparent in the further course of this disclosure.
From a first aspect thereof, the invention resides in a method of making a circuit board holder and, more specifically, resides in the improvement comprising, in combination, providing that circuit board holder with a face plate and with walls projecting from an inside of that face plate, equipping a pair of opposite ones of such walls with circuit board retainers and equipping that circuit board holder with a holder retainer for releasably retaining that circuit board holder in the mentioned aperture of the panel.
From a related aspect thereof, the invention resides in a circuit board holder comprising, in combination, a face plate and walls projecting from an inside of that face plate, circuit board retainers at a pair of opposite ones of such walls, and a holder retainer at an edge of the face plate.
The circuit board retainers may be inside and/or outside of the circuit board holder.
From another aspect thereof, the invention resides in a method of mounting a device, such as a circuit board holder, in an aperture of a panel, comprising, in combination, providing that device with a resilient snap for releasably retaining that device in the panel at that aperture, providing the panel with a slot at that aperture for access to the resilient snap through that panel, and releasing such resilient snap through that slot for removal of the device from the panel.
From a related aspect thereof, the invention resides in a combination of a panel having an aperture, a device, such as a circuit board holder, retained in that aperture by a resilient snap at an edge of that aperture, and a slot in such panel at that aperture exposing the resilient snap through the panel at an edge of the mentioned aperture in that panel.
Embodiments of the invention extend to assemblies of such circuit board holders with circuit boards therein and with circuit panels.